


She's Gone

by grace_lou_freebush



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Song fic, Suspense, Turncoat Draco Malfoy, Unrequited Love, Wartime AU, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29989704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grace_lou_freebush/pseuds/grace_lou_freebush
Summary: Secret informant Draco Malfoy is on a mission to warn Hermione of a trap before it's too late.HP Pop Punk Fest 2021 - Day 11, My Own Worst EnemyStars begin poking through the darkening sky, punching pinprick lights through the veil of encroaching night-time.Draco is running out of time.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25
Collections: HP Pop Punk Fest 2021





	She's Gone

**Author's Note:**

> I'm excited I got this finished on time after two days in a row of allowing fics to grow too big for me to finish in one night! Hopefully I can get those wrapped up and posted this weekend, but for now:
> 
> HP Pop Punk Fest 2021 - Day 11, My Own Worst Enemy

Draco rushes to the safehouse. Anti-Apparition wards protect the cottage from unwelcome visitors, so Draco races across the countryside on his broom. His heart pounds furiously against his ribs as if it could jump out and beat him to his destination. His breath catches in his throat. If he weren't gripping the handle so tightly to keep his flight steady, his hands would tremble.

He has to get there; he has to warn her.

Kilometers blur by so far below Draco that any unsuspecting Muggles will only briefly wonder what type of strange bird he is before he's gone again. Wind rushes in his ears like a waterfall, casting him over the edge of a cliff with only a prayer of survival. Blood courses through his veins, carrying adrenaline and anxiety and fear.

Too much time is passing. If they leave before he can tell her it's a trap, the whole Order of the Phoenix will be ensnared and killed.

Draco's eyes blur with dryness then tears as the sun sets before him. If he can outpace the sun, he might make it on time. The sky flares Gryffindor red and gold, the colours of courage and recklessness. He hopes it's a sign of his change of heart and determination and not a signal that the true lions have already set out for their mission.

He pushes. He crouches lower and tucks his feet and knees tighter. He grits his teeth through the strain in his muscles. His whole body sings like a discordant note on a violin, vibrating violently as he drives further, harder, faster.

He thinks of Hermione, the contact he's been secretly meeting to pass along information for nearly a year. A year tomorrow. He has tried so hard to remain professional, emotionally aloof, unattached.

She'd slithered her way into his mind, heart, soul anyway. 

If he doesn't arrive…

Stars begin poking through the darkening sky, punching pinprick lights through the veil of encroaching night-time.

Draco is running out of time.

Finally, he recognizes the familiar landmarks. An old, gnarled tree that he knows houses bowtruckles. A barn enclosed in a picket fence. A small, winding lane cutting through the green hills before it abruptly stops at no destination.

Draco follows the curve of the lane from one hundred meters above. The cool wash of the wards allowing him access is like jumping into the Black Lake in December. He points the nose of his broom straight down, the fastest, most daring, most desperate dive of his life.

He has to be there on time. Night has truly fallen, the bright, full moon hanging among the stars, pregnant with promise for what lies in wait for those foolish enough to go out tonight.

Draco angles his broom for the back of the small cottage, where he knows Hermione's room lies. As a secret informant, he's never used the front door.

No lights flicker in the windows, and Draco does not wait for his broom to stop before he leaps off.

He dashes for Hermione's window. She always keeps it cracked for him.

He crawls in.

Her room is empty.

He springs out the door.

The hall is empty.

The kitchen is empty.

The drawing room is empty.

The spare rooms are empty.

They are gone.

She's gone.

Gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to yell at me in the comments! And I would be honored if you left me a kudos!


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